The child can include their own dependent children in this application.

​

The sponsoring parent

The child's sponsoring parent must be an Australian citizen, the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen. The spouse or de facto partner of the child's parent can also sponsor the child.

​

The child's relationship with the sponsor

The child must be:

the biological child or adopted child of the sponsoring parent

a step child who has not turned 18 of a step-parent who is no longer the partner of the child's parent but has a legal responsibility to care for the child.

An adopted child must have been adopted before their parent became an Australian citizen or the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen.

​

Best interests of the child

This visa will not usually be granted if it is against the best interests of a child younger than 18 years of age.

Age

The child must be under 25 years of age, but if 18 years of age or over must be a full-time student and dependent on their sponsoring parent. The only exception to the age limit and full-time student requirement is where the child has a disability that stops them from working.

​

Health

The child must meet certain
health requirements. The results are usually valid for 12 months. This also applies to any member of your family unit included in your application, whether they are migrating or not.

​

Character

A child older than 16 years of age must meet certain
character requirements. They must be prepared to provide a police certificate from each country they have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after they turned 16 years of age. Do not arrange for police certificates until we ask you to.

This applies to you and all members of your family unit listed in your application, whether they are migrating or not.

​

Debts to the Australian Government

The child must have no outstanding debts to the Australian Government or have arranged to repay any outstanding debts to the Australian Government.

The visa

​

About this visa

A Child visa (subclass 101) lets an eligible parent sponsor their child to live in Australia indefinitely. The parent can apply on behalf of a child younger than 18 years of age.

a step-parent who is no longer the partner of the child's parent but has a legal responsibility to care for the child and the child is younger than 18 years of age

an adoptive parent who adopted the child before you became an Australian citizen, the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa, or eligible New Zealand citizen.

You do not need to be in Australia at the time of application. You can still be a sponsoring parent if you:

entered Australia in the past but are outside Australia when you lodge the application

have been granted your Australian permanent resident visa but have not yet entered Australia.

A child who was adopted after you became an Australian citizen, the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa or eligible New Zealand citizen, might be able to apply for an
Adoption visa (subclass 102).

​

Parental responsibility

This visa can be granted only if you can show one of the following for a child younger than 18 years of age:

you have the written consent of each person who can legally decide where the child lives

the laws of the child’s home country permit the removal of the child

it is consistent with any Australian child order.

The documents you must provide with your application to support this claim are listed under the Follow these steps tab.

​

Character

You must meet certain
character requirements. You must be prepared to provide a police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 years of age. Do not arrange for police certificates until we ask you to.

​

Assurance of support

We might ask for an assurance of support for the child so that welfare costs for some migrants are not borne by the Australian community.

Do not provide an assurance of support unless we ask for one and tell you what you need to do.

​

Sponsorship obligations

As a sponsor you must:

be responsible for the cost to the Australian Government of the child living in Australia

provide adequate accommodation and enough financial support to meet the child's reasonable living needs for their first two years in Australia

help the child settle in Australia

support the child to attend any required English language class.

You must tell us in writing if circumstances change in a way that could affect the child's eligibility for a Child visa, or your eligibility to sponsor the child.

Follow these steps

Gather documents

​

Documents

Prepare your documents

You need to provide documents to support your application for this visa. We can make a decision using the information you provide when you lodge your application. It is in your interest to provide as much information as possible with your application.

Provide certified copies of original documents. Do not include original documents unless we specifically ask for them. Police certificates should be original documents. Documents not in English must be accompanied by accredited English translations.

Apply

​

Apply for the visa

You must provide all relevant documents and pay the visa application charge when you apply.

Lodge your application at one of the immigration offices outside Australia, which will tell you how you can pay. There is also further information available on the
methods of payment accepted by
our offices.

Tell us of changes

Tell us of changes

How to tell us of changes

Tell us if your circumstances or the child’s circumstances change. Use the following forms:

Form 929 - Change of address and/or passport details (86KB PDF) — if you move to a new address or change your passport

Form 1022 - Notification of changes in circumstances (77KB PDF) — if there are other changes in your circumstances.

​

Withdrawing your visa application

You can withdraw the application at any time before we make a decision about it. To do this, send us a letter or email to ask for the withdrawal. Your request must include your full name and date of birth. You should also include your file reference number, client ID, or a Transaction Reference Number.

All applicants 18 years of age or older, wishing to withdraw, must sign the request for withdrawal.

The following Visa Pricing Estimator requires you to answer the questions as accurately as possible to provide you with an estimate for lodging a visa application. The estimator might not include the second instalment of the visa application charge which is payable for some visas. Please note this is an estimate for a visa application, if you have already lodged your application and you want to change/add applicants please refer to the Visa Pricing Table. The Visa Pricing Estimator will give you an estimate of the charges you may need to pay to lodge a visa application. This is paid after you have made your application but before the visa can be granted. Read the department's full disclaimer. The Commonwealth of Australia does not guarantee the accuracy, currency or completeness of any material in the Visa Pricing Estimator.